Dream Wife‘s debut is big, bold and beautiful

Dream Wife’s self-titled debut is ablaze from start to finish. The record opens with the insuppressible and in your face ‘Let’s Make Out’, a garage rock party banger where Rakel Mjöll’s hoarse roars give zero fucks.

“I am not my body, I am somebody,” she sings on ‘Somebody’, nodding to the feminist politics that are at the core of the band, and explored lyrically throughout. The record is mighty in words and music; angular guitars are paired with ethereal dream pop harmonies that create an unmistakable Dream Wife sound, as most noticeable on ‘Fire’ and ‘Spend The Night’.

‘Hey Heartbreaker’ takes on a throwback, 00s post-punk revival sound with group chants and hand claps; there’s a sense of nostalgia on the record, but an urgency of young blood and a need for something new – and Dream Wife deliver tenfold. The album might be comprised of short and intense tracks that are no longer than four minutes, but Dream Wife don’t miss the opportunity to fit in an emotional ballad on ‘Love Without Reason’.

Coming full circle, ‘Dream Wife’ ends with the fiery ‘FUU’, easily the darkest and angriest track on the record, fuelled by riot grrrl-inspired intimidation, but doesn’t go without a sense of humour. What Dream Wife get so right with their self-titled is that every track is as big, bold and beautiful as the last; a concoction of high spirited confidence and self-awareness, chock full of hooks and zealous instrumentation. Jasleen Dhindsa